


Don't Go Where I Can't Follow

by Ellie (Ava_Morgenstern)



Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: Emotional Hurt, Established Relationship, F/M, First time publishing something so idk how to tag lol, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-04
Updated: 2020-09-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:35:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,396
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26285797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ava_Morgenstern/pseuds/Ellie
Summary: Pt. 1= The apprentice's last moments in the lazaret (first person POV)Pt. 2= Asra finding out the apprentice's fate
Relationships: Apprentice & Asra (The Arcana), Apprentice/Asra (The Arcana)
Kudos: 22





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first work I ever shown in public so pls be gentle with my jello heart lol. (also struggled writing it because I spent a lot of time crying because just imagining Asra's pain is so hard TT^TT so I didn't get to edit it lol. Welp.)

I stare at the ceiling that’s stained with the red glow emitted by the crackling fire from the crematorium. The hissing fire whispers to me, _“soon”_. 

The heat radiating from the furnaces offers no comfort from the pin-pricking sensation that afflicted my skin, coldness creeping in deep within my bones. The endless cries of the tormented souls that reverberate in the walls and the putrid smell of burning flesh that constantly invade my lungs never seems to cease. 

This is where the forgotten ones die.

In these last few moments, my mind takes solace within my memories of Asra. If I close my eyes, I can feel his lingering touches, hear the echoes of his laughter. I think back on the day of the argument. Had I known then that, that would be the last time I would see him, I would have etched his image on my eyelids. 

Would he ever forgive me?

I don't want to leave him alone. 

“I’m sorry”, I whisper, voice crackling, hoping that the wind will take it to him.

I close my eyes as the darkness engulfs me.


	2. Chapter 2

.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.

─━━━━━━⊱༻ ⚪️ ༺⊰━━━━━━─

Asra is working on a spell when he feels a dull ache in his chest. _Weird_ , he thinks. The pain persisted throughout the day, and it was accompanied by an unexplainable nagging feeling that he just could not shake off. He couldn’t help but worry about the apprentice, so he uses his magic to reach them. 

But...nothing.

He tries to reach them again. But even so, there was nothing. He feels as if the river that once connected them became a bottomless chasm. 

Faust pops out of his scarf. “Worried?”

“You know I always do.” 

He collects his things as he wonders whether the apprentice will forgive him. Should he bring them something as an apology gift? 

He remembers the amulet he recently bought from a travelling vendor just a week ago. He had bought it because it reminds him of them. It had an intricate detail that the apprentice will surely enjoy, and the gem in the middle has the same colour as their eyes. He also carved out a protection rune at the back of the amulet. Though, no amount of magical protection would ease Asra’s mind. He will always worry and fuss over them.

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•

He runs straight to the shop the moment the beast lands on the outskirts of Vesuvia. 

It takes him a second to undo the wards and flings the door open, half expecting the apprentice to be sitting at the table with tea in hand, welcoming him home, like they usually do. 

But the only thing that greets him is the air draft from opening the door. No one was home. 

He looks around the place and sees the scattered notes and their grimoire on top of the table. 

_Huh. They never leave the house without their grimoire_ . 

He goes up the narrow stairs and checks their room. The bed is made and everything seems to be in order. But he still can’t shake the persistent nagging feeling. 

He touches their bed, letting his magic flow from him to the bed, feeling for remnants of their magic. Usually, things that are used regularly tend to hold lingering magic from their owners.

The magic was very faint. This means that the apprentice hasn’t used their bed for at least a few days, maybe even a week. Worries gnaw at him. 

_What if?_ ...No, he refuses to even entertain the thought. 

Surely he’s just overreacting. It’s very likely the apprentice hasn’t used their bed for a while because they were pushing themselves too hard to help the sick and find the cure for the plague. 

He was feeling too antsy to just sit around and wait. Leaving Faust at the shop, he heads out and pulls out the well-worn magical compass from his pocket, watching it spin for a second before the needle settles to point in the south direction.

He follows the compass which led him to the docks and looks around to see where the needle of the compass is pointing at.

The lazaret. 

He stares at the island, an ominous feeling settling within him. The smoke from the chimneys of the lazaret engulfs the sky with dark clouds, painting the entire island rather bleakly.

There is only one boat at the docks, and he could see a group of people whose eyes were red were being led to the boat. He runs up to the man at the boat who is wearing a black mask with an elongated beak. 

“Excuse me, when do the workers from the hospital take the boat back?” 

The man gives him an incredulous look. “What? No one comes back from that island besides me, and the people working there are slowly dying. I simply guide the living to their resting place” 

_Surely he’s mistaken,_ Asra thinks.

Looking around the area, he spots an unused boat moored at the pier. No one would notice a boat missing since most of the population avoid the area because of the transportation of sick people. 

He hops on the boat and flicks his finger on the water, creating an unnatural current that pushes the boat.

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅• 

The ride from the docks to the lazaret is a short but miserable trip. The wrought-iron gates and the ashen sand welcomed him, though it was an unwanted one. He pulls out the compass again and follows it, expecting that it would lead him inside the hospital. Instead, it leads him to the other side of the island. 

There is nothing in the area that indicates any living being to be there. There were small mounds of grey sand that crowded the shoreline and the beach. Upon closer inspection, he realizes that the mounds were finer than sand. 

The needle of the compass keeps pointing at the same area, regardless of what he does. But how could the apprentice be there? There was nothing there.

He wondered if he had broken the compass. It was supposed to lead you to your heart’s desire, not in the middle of nowhere.

Something catches his eye on one of the mounds. It looks like a white stone buried within the sand. He digs it out, and to his horror, it was a human skull. 

_No._

He drops the skull and digs up another mound. 

And another. 

And another. 

He fervently digs every mound on that beach until his fingers bled. 

It had been dark at this point, the sun already long gone. Surrounded by dug up graves, he digs up another one. 

This time, it feels different. He could feel very faint magic. There, a skull rested within it. He stares at it for a second, afraid of touching it. With his shaky and bleeding hands, he reaches out to grab the skull. 

He jumps back the moment he touches the skull, his breath coming in short bursts. 

He felt _their_ magic. It was in that skull. 

But then that means…? 

_No._

His entire body shook, an onslaught of emotions going through him at a dizzying pace. Regret, being the prominent one.

It was too much. Everything was all too much. 

Every breath he took felt like daggers piercing his lungs, every second ticking away as a reminder that each moment that had passed were moments that did not include the apprentice. 

Gone. Forever. 

He can’t seem to wrap his head around it, thinking this was just a never-ending nightmare. But even if he pinches his skin strong enough to draw blood, the pain just reminds him he is alive...but they’re not. 

He felt like a fool, remembering the times he had spent away from them all because he was afraid of his feelings. Yet that fear he felt in the past is minuscule compared to the grief drowning him. 

He refuses to live in this world in which they did not exist anymore, consequences be damned. Surely there is a way to bring someone back to life. 

_Ah, yes. Magic. I can bring them back with magic._

Asra descends into a fit of hysterical laughter.

Cradling their skull, he stares at the horizon and the rising sun, a sense of aberrant hope washes over him. 

He smiles with unblinking, emotionless eyes as he holds up the skull in front of him. “don't worry, I’ll see you soon.”

**Author's Note:**

> Posted on [The Arcana Amino](https://aminoapps.com/c/arcana-visual-novel/page/blog/dont-go-where-i-cant-follow-asra-x-apprentice/L2bv_B4oi8uGaBwpVGMNXYnRKzYdLE8zpre) too.


End file.
